Shoe shaper and insert

ABSTRACT

A shoe shaper and insert for placement within the pointed toe region of (e.g., women&#39;s) shoes to maintain the design aesthetic of the shoes. The shaper and insert is formed from resilient material and can be manufactured to fit a specific shoe designer&#39;s shoes, manufactured as an element of a shoe, or manufactured in one size that the wearer may cut to a custom fit. The shaper and insert occupies the distal end of the shoe&#39;s toe portion, and at the proximal end, spans the width of the wearer&#39;s toe region where the insert comes in contact with the wearer&#39;s toes. If, due to wear, the shoe&#39;s pointed toe region stretches at the proximal end, the insert keeps the foot from slipping forward and the wearer&#39;s heel from slipping out of the shoe when the wearer walks. Thus, a multi-function shoe shaper and insert prevents heel slippage and maintains the fashionable design aesthetic of pointed toed shoes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/559,571, filed Nov. 14, 2011, the contents which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to apparel and more particularly to shoe inserts.

BACKGROUND

During the past decade, pointed-toed women's footwear has become increasingly popular. In the 1960's, women's shoes with pointed toes were also popular; however, the shoes were made so that the wearer's toes were crammed into the toe region of the shoe, which narrowed to a point. These shoes were designed to be fashionable, but were painful to wear, and repeated wearing resulted in foot problems such as bunions, corns, and hammertoes.

Today's pointed toed shoes are made so that the pointed toe region of the shoe that is designed into the shoe as an aesthetic feature begins where the tips of the toes begin (the distal part of the toes). These shoes accommodate the width of the toes, but, unlike the shoes of decades ago, the fashionable point extends past the tips of the toes. A woman may purchase a pointed-toe shoe in her size, but there will be anywhere from one-half inch to one and one-half inches of shoe that extends beyond the tip of her toes. This pointed toe region of the shoe provides the fashionable aspect to the shoe without crowding the toes as the pointed-toed shoes did in the past.

When any type of shoe is worn, it bends to the wearer's foot and eventually forms folds across the width of the shoe in the proximal toe area. These folds remain when the shoe is not being worn. The shoe no longer has the full, uniform shape it did when newly purchased. Because the point that extends beyond a wearer's toes in today's pointed-toed shoes does not contain any part of the foot to hold its shape when worn, the shoe bends at the place where the wearer's toes end and the pointed toe region begins. Eventually, and sometimes upon only a few wearings (depending on the thickness of the shoe's material), the point of the shoe begins to flatten, wrinkle, and sometimes bends upward. The pointed toe region that was supposed to provide a fashionable aspect to the shoe is now deformed. Some women pay hundreds of dollars for one pair of pointed toed shoes, only to have the pointed toe deformed after having worn the shoes a few times.

Shoes made of natural materials such as leather stretch upon wearing. Many women's fashion shoes with the extended point are made of leather. While the fashionable pointed toe region bends and deforms upon wearing, the rest of the shoe stretches, especially across the width of the shoe where the proximal toes bend when a person walks. This stretching may cause the foot to slip downward into the shoe, which results in the heel slipping either partially or entirely out of the shoe upon walking. Manufacturers have developed shoe shapers to help stretch shoes while they are not being worn. They have also developed inserts made of foam to make shoes more comfortable when wearing and inserts that adhere to the inside heel portion of the shoe to prevent slippage.

Both U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,694 to Tradigo A. and Tradigo F. and U.S. Pat. No. D498,915 to Achcar show shoe shaping devices. These shapers fill the entire length of a shoe and are meant to be placed in the shoe while the shoe is not being worn. These shapers have an end member that abuts the inside heel surface of a shoe and a toe region member that fits into the toe box of the shoe and fills the space. Both of these shapers are fixed on a horizontal plane from the part of the shaper that abuts the inside heel part of the shoe and the part that fits into the toe region by rigid material. These shapers would best be suited to a shoe where the shoe insole is flat; that is, with a wide toe box and that has a heel height of not more than one-half inch. Women's pointed-toe shoes have heel heights beginning at half an inch, with some shoes having heel heights of up to four inches or more. As the heel height of the shoe increases, the part of the shoe that supports the arch of the foot forms an angle from toe to heel, so a rigid shoe shaper would not fit into high-heeled shoes. The proximal member of these shoe inserts would also be too wide to fit into the narrower pointed toe region of women's fashion shoes. Furthermore, these types of shoe shapers are devised to stretch out the folds and compressions that develop after the shoe is worn; they do not prevent the pointed part of the shoe from becoming bent, wrinkled, or from bending upward. Because they are meant to be kept in the shoes while in storage, these types of inserts cannot prevent heel slippage.

Davis, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,827,707, describes a memory foam shoe insert that can be placed in the “distal end of the shoe toe region and present a proximal toe-engaging face that substantially spans the cross-sectional dimensions of the toe region.” Davis mentions that “ . . . some women's high-heel shoes having sharply pointed toe region, such that the toes can experience an extreme amount of pressure.” However, the “sharply pointed toe region” that Davis describes refers to shoes where the tips of the toes are crammed into a pointed toe region, such as those produced several decades ago. When wearing shoes where the point extends beyond the tips of the woman's toes, pressure on the toes does not occur because the width of the shoe accommodates the width of the toes. The pointed toe region is essentially “empty;’ the toes do not occupy this space. If a shoe stretches upon wearing, the distal ends of the toes can slip forward slightly into the proximal end of the pointed toe region of the shoe. This results in the heel of the foot no longer coming in contact with the inside heel of the shoe, thus causing the heel to slip out either partially or all the way out of the shoe when walking. Davis' foam inserts are designed to “provide comfort to the shoe wearers” (specifically the toes); they are not designed to maintain the fashionable point's shape or to keep the heel from slipping out of a shoe when walking.

A shoe insert is currently sold that is shaped like an inverted “V,” is made of rigid plastic, and has break-off segments to accommodate different sizes of shoe toe points. If a woman wears hosiery such as tights or nylons, the portion of the insert where the segment was broken off may snag or tear the hosiery. When the ends of the toes come in contact with this insert, the rigid material could feel hard and uncomfortable against the toes. Also, these inserts are made to be taken out of the shoe. These inserts being relatively expensive, one pair is meant to be removed from a first pair of shoes to be used in a second pair. However, the broken-off insert may only fit the pointed toe region of one particular pair of shoes. Also, because one cannot custom cut these inserts to fit a particular pair of shoes (i.e., one must break off segments of predetermined length), such an insert cannot prevent heel slippage if it is too short and therefore cannot keep the toes from entering the pointed toe region of the shoe.

SUMMARY

No known shoe shaper and insert 1) helps maintain the full, pointed shape of a pointy-toed shoe where the point extends beyond the tips of the toes; 2) keeps the heel from slipping out of the shoe in the event that the shoe stretches and the shoe becomes loose, and 3) may be kept in the shoe upon storage so that it becomes part of the shoe or may be removed for use in another pair of shoes.

This disclosure is directed to a resilient shoe shaper and insert that fills the pointed toe region of a shoe. The shoe shaper and insert is meant to be kept in the shoe while wearing. While the insert may be taken out of the shoes when the shoes are being stored, it is not necessary. One benefit is to maintain the aesthetic of the fashionable pointed toe region of a shoe in the full shape that the manufacturer intended and that the shoe had upon purchase. Due to wear, the proximal end of the pointed toe region of the shoe may stretch so that the foot slips forward into the shoe, which would result in heel slippage when walking. When the shoe shaper and insert occupies the pointed toe region and comes in contact with the toes, the foot remains in the proper place within the shoe. Therefore, the prevention of heel slippage is another provided benefit.

The present shoe shaper may be manufactured and sold in “one size fits all” in a large size so as to be trimmed to size by the user, or may be manufactured in several sizes such as small, medium, large, etc. with the possibility of further trimming by the user. Further, the present shoe shaper may be manufactured and sold as an element of a shoe so that the shaper is already in place upon purchase.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of a pointed-toe shoe being worn and the present shoe shaper and insert illustrated in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a perspective interior view of the shoe's pointed toe box with the shoe shaper and insert illustrated inside.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the shoe shaper and insert.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view from above of a pointed toe shoe 12 worn on the right foot 14. The shoe vamp 13 exposes the proximal region of the toes 15. The tips of the toes (not shown) rest at the proximal end of the shoe shaper and insert 11 (shown in phantom.) The shoe shaper and insert 11 fills the pointed toe region of the shoe 12, which extends beyond the tips of the toes. This excess length that ends in a pointed shape serves to make the shoe 12 fashionable. In one embodiment, the shoe shaper and insert 11 is made of dense foam or some other resilient material that will maintain the fullness of the pointed region of the shoe 12 that extends beyond the tips of the wearer's toes. The shoe shaper and insert 11 is shaped similarly to, e.g., an approximately triangular shape (in plan view). Specifically, the shoe shaper and insert conforms to the interior pointed toe portion of a shoe so it has a flat side that contacts the shoe sole and two sides, with a top rounded portion that contacts and conforms to the inside upper portion of the shoe.

The shoe shaper and insert 11 can be trimmed at its base end (of the triangular shape) or elsewhere if the shaper 11 is larger in any dimension than the pointed toe region of the shoe 12. When the wearer's toes come in contact with the shoe shaper and insert 11, the material is soft and pliable enough so as to be comfortable, but not so as to compress so much that the shoe shaper and insert's 11 basic shape is changed. If the shoe 12 becomes stretched due to wear so that the user's heels slip partially or entirely out of the shoe upon walking, the shoe shaper and insert 11 will help (a) keep the foot from slipping forward into the shoe and (b) the heel positioned towards the back inside of the shoe so that the heel will no longer slip out.

FIG. 2 is a perspective interior view of the shoe's 12 pointed toe region with the shoe shaper and insert 11 inside. The base end of the shoe shaper and insert's 11 approximately triangular shape is shown. The tips of the wearer's toes may come in close contact with the shoe shaper and insert 11, which is typically made of a material dense or solid enough to maintain the fullness of the shoe's 12 pointed toe area but resilient so it will not cause discomfort to the toes of the wearer.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the shoe shaper and insert 11 by itself, showing the shoe insert material 16, such as a dense foam or any other resilient material that will help maintain the original full shape of the shoe's 11 pointed toe region. The material 16 is also typically soft enough to trim to size by the user in the case that the shoe shaper and insert 11 is too big when inserted into the point of the shoe, as pointed toe regions differ in length depending on the design of the shoe. The shoe shaper and insert 11 may also be designed and sized for men's shoes that are manufactured with a pointed toe region that extends beyond the wearer's toes. In another embodiment, the shoe shaper and insert 11 may be pre-formed to fit the pointed toe region of a specific designer's shoes upon manufacture. In yet another embodiment, the shoe shaper and insert 11 are manufactured and sold as an element of a pointed toe shoe so that the shaper and insert is already in place upon purchase.

The present shaper in one embodiment is provided with adhesive (e.g., double sided) tape adhered to one or more of its surfaces which in use is in contact with the shoe sole or inner portion of the shoe's toe portion. Thereby the user can trim the shaper to fit the particular shoe, remove the outer protective layer of the tape, and adhere the shaper to the interior of the shoe so it will not fall out when the shoe is not being worn.

Typically the present shoe shaper is of the same configuration for left or right shoes, but this is not limiting. Typically the shoe shaper is sold in sets of two or more.

In operation, one inserts the shoe shaper and insert 11 (FIG. 3) into the pointed toe region of the shoe 12 that extends beyond the wearer's toes. The user may insert the shaper (11) in its full, manufactured shape, or, if the shaper is too large for the pointed toe region, the user may cut the side that will come in contact with the users toes (e.g., with scissors) for a custom fit. When the user wears a shoe 12 where the pointed toe region extends beyond the tips of the user's toes, the shoe shaper and insert 11 provides the following benefits:

(1) The pointed portion of the shoe 12, which is designed into the shoe to be a fashionable aspect of the shoe, maintains the full shape and design aesthetic it had upon purchase.

(2) The pointed toe region of the shoe 12 does not collapse, wrinkle, or bend upward.

(3) If the insert and shaper comes in contact with the tips of the toes, the user's toes are not crushed and the insert feels comfortable.

(4) In the event the proximal end of the pointed toe region becomes stretched due to wear, the foot 14 does not slip forward, so that the heel of the foot remains pressed against the inside heel portion of the shoe; therefore, when the user walks, the heel does not slip out of the shoe.

This disclosure is not limiting. Further modification and improvements will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

I claim:
 1. A device for use in a shoe, the device comprising: a shaper formed at least in part of a resilient material, said shaper having at least three sides and three angles defining a triangular shape adapted to fit within a pointed toe portion of a shoe.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein at least some of said angles are not acute, and at least two of the sides of said insert differ in length.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein at least two of the sides of said shaper are of approximately the same length.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein angular parts of said shaper are rounded.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein said shaper has a thickness such as to fill the pointed toe portion of said shoe, wherein said insert urges a user's heel against an inside heel portion of said shoe, whereby said shoe does not slip.
 6. The device of claim 1, in combination with a shoe.
 7. The device of claim 1, further comprising an adhesive region on an outer surface of said shaper.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein said material is a dense foam.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein said shaper is configured to conform to the pointed toe portion of a predetermined model or type of shoe. 